BOSTON—Hooman Noorchashm isn't a gynecologist, but his battle against a common—and potentially dangerous—hysterectomy procedure has triggered a heated debate and yielded changes in how it is done.

The Harvard-affiliated cardiothoracic surgeon has by all accounts become the driving force trying to curb morcellation, a procedure that may have spread a dangerous form of uterine cancer in his wife. It involves using powered devices to...